Hookah Stem Adapter

ABSTRACT

The present invention includes a hookah with a stem base bifurcated into two sections. A first section permits attachment to wet smoke outlets for smoke, the second section permits pressure release. A bifurcation wall creates an ideal airflow for purging the stem base. The bifurcation may be created with removable stem adapter.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part, and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 from, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/621,377 Hookah filed on Feb. 12, 2015.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of hookahs and more specifically to the field of fragile smoking articles.

BACKGROUND

Of the many proud traditions of Ottoman culture, few have achieved the world-wide fame of hookah smoking. Once confined to the Middle East and Near East regions, the hookah's notoriety was invigorated by Napoleon's invasion of Egypt and the stream of curious Westerners which followed thereafter. Painters, such as Eugene Delacroix and Jean-Leon Gerome, when depicting Oriental styles typically included a hookah as a symbol of the depicted culture. The hookah was elevated from a regional curiosity to a universal symbol of sophistication.

The hookah, which has maintained a constant popularity in the Middle East, presently enjoys in American culture a unique, niched function. Hookah smoking combines community and relaxation into a single event. Rarely does one witness a group smokers crowded about a single cigarette, cigar, or pipe. Though hookahs are often designed with a single smoke outlet; the presence of multiple hoses, each capable of simultaneous use, emanating from a single smoking instrument is unique to the hookah. Multiple hose hookahs form the centerpieces of hookah clubs in which hookah smokers gather to unwind and converse with other community members. A hookah combines fashion, art, and function into a single device.

A basic hookah includes a bottle, a stem, at least one hose with a mouthpiece, and a bowl. The hookah bowl holds the hookah tobacco, frequently “massell.” Massell is a mixture of tobacco, molasses, and often a flavor or fruit extract. The molasses and fruit extract add a substantial amount of moisture to the massell that is missing in conventional tobacco. This added moisture makes massell more sensitive to the elements relative to conventional tobacco; prolonged exposure to air evaporates much of the moisture of massell and reduces its flavor. When properly protected, massell allows a smoker a more recreational, flavored smoke than the tobacco of cigars, cigarettes, pipes, and the like. An experienced hookah smoker will know to loosely distribute massell into a pile within the hookah bowl to allow heat to evenly circulate through the pile.

The heat that ignites the massell derives from coals positioned above the hookah bowl. The coals and massell preferably never contact one to the other. A common method of placing coals proximate to the massell involves spreading a foil upon the top of a hookah bowl, punching holes in the foil, and then placing the coals onto the foil. The heat from the lighted coals travels through the holes in the foil to ignite portions of the massell. Particulates from the massell travel in the smoke created by the ignition down through the hookah bowl into the hookah pipe.

The hookah stem is the body of a hookah and is usually fabricated from brass, tin, or stainless steel. The stem transports the massell smoke from the bowl to the hookah bottle, which is a cavern containing water. The bottle of the hookah is typically fabricated of glass or plastic and tends to be the most expressive portion of the hookah, ranging from translucent to wildly-colored. Within the cavern of the hookah bottle, the massell smoke is cooled by the water within. The cooled massell smoke then returns to the stem, though not through the same entrance by which the massell smoke enters the bottle. From the stem, the massell smoke travels through the hose and out of the mouthpiece.

There are presently two prominent versions of hookah structures: the Lebanese style and the Egyptian style. Although the aficionado will explain that there are many differences between the two styles, the practical layman would quickly note the obvious difference: the connection point between the stem and the hookah bowl. The Egyptian style hookah pipe tapers upward into what is generally referred to as a male connection. The Egyptian style hookah bowl includes a female connection which receives the pipe's male connection. In the Lebanese style hookah the bowl has the tapered male connection and the pipe has the female connection to accept the Lebanese style hookah bowl. In both styles, to allow a more airtight connection a collar is generally added to fit around the male connection.

Those hookahs that happen to utilize pressure release mechanisms with hookahs rely on airflow configurations that fail to emphasize airflow to the pressure release mechanism during positive pressure events. A positive pressure event is an event wherein the air pressure within the hookah increases, and when used in conjunction with a pressure-actuated type seal as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,001,978 moves the seal mechanism to permit pressure release. In many instances hookahs fail to differentiate in the stem proper between passages for seals and passages for pressure release—and to the extent that there is a distinction, it is usually in a stem attachment or outcropping. Wet smoke suction (for smoking) and wet smoke release are different physical concepts and there is a need for a hookah configuration that treats them accordingly.

SUMMARY

The present invention is directed to hookah that includes a stem and a bottle. The bottle may include any hookah bottle as known in the art that includes a solid sidewall and opening. The hookah stem includes a dry smoke inlet, a wet smoke inlet, a sidewall, one or more wet smoke outlets, and a pressure release outlet. A down tube passes through the stem into the bottle to release dry smoke into liquid contained within the bottle.

The stem of the present invention includes an interior plenum bifurcated by a stem partition wall. The stem partition wall extends from one part of the partition wall to the other in the manner of a chord. The partition wall divides the plenum into a major cavern and a minor cavern. Wet smoke directly rises into the plenum, including into each of the major and minor caverns; however, the major and minor caverns connect to distinct airflow components of the hookah. The major cavern includes a wet smoke outlet dimensioned to accept a hookah hose fitting, and the minor cavern includes a pressure release outlet. It is preferred that the partition wall extends to the depths of the hookah stem, which may include a plunger to further extend the depth of the stem. Furthermore, plates may be used to constrict airflow into the major and minor caverns. The down tube passes centrally through the plenum and through the major cavern into the hookah bottle.

A pressure valve connects with the pressure release outlet for selectively releasing hookah bottle pressure in response to a pulsed pressure surge.

The present invention further includes a down tube adapter that emulates the interior constructed stem of the present invention without specialized fabrication techniques. The down tube insert includes an elastic body and one or more fins. The body includes an aperture to fit around the exterior of a downtube. The elasticity of the body permits the adapter to cling in a self-supporting fashion to the downtube.

These aspects of the invention are not meant to be exclusive. Furthermore, some features may apply to certain versions of the invention, but not others. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art when read in conjunction with the following description, and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the hookah of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the hookah of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the stem of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a revealed view of the stem of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the stem of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the stem base of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a revealed view of the stem base of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a bottom, perspective view of the stem base of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a side, revealed perspective view of the stem adapter affixed to a down tube.

FIG. 10 is a top, plan view of the stem adapter affixed to a down tube.

FIG. 11 is an upper, revealed perspective view of the stem adapter.

FIG. 12 is a top, plan view of the stem adapter.

FIG. 13 is an upper, revealed perspective view of the stem adapter.

FIG. 14 is a top, plan view of the stem adapter.

FIG. 15 is an upper, revealed perspective view of the stem adapter.

FIG. 16 is a top, plan view of the stem adapter.

FIG. 17 is an upper, revealed perspective view of the stem adapter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring first to FIGS. 1-4, a basic embodiment of the hookah 100 of the present invention is shown. The hookah 100 includes a bottle 102 and stem 120. The stem 120 conceptually includes a dry smoke transport tube 190 and a stem base 130, which may or may not be separable as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,806,123, the disclosure of which hereby incorporated into the present disclosure. Generally speaking, the dry smoke transport tube 190 is discernable from the stem base 130 by function; the dry smoke transport tube contains only dry smoke that is transported from the burner downward, while the stem base 130 includes complex airflow passages for the shunting of both wet smoke and dry smoke to their respective destinations. The stem base includes wet smoke apertures 132, which as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,001,978 (the disclosure of which hereby incorporated into the present disclosure), may be for the purpose of drawing smoke to a user or wet smoke pressure release.

The hookah bottle 102 includes a solid sidewall 104 because unlike other smoking instruments, which lack an ornamental nature (particularly derived from the use of delicate materials), the stem contains necessary airflow elements. The hookah bottle 102 has an opening 106 for the stem 120 to send and receive smoke. The stem attaches to the hookah base through any means known in the art, including seal, threading, etc; and may attach at any position known in the art, such as within a hookah bottle neck, outside the hookah bottle neck, or atop the hookah bottle neck.

Dry smoke begins at the burner (not shown) and travels through the dry smoke tube 190. From the dry smoke tube 190, dry smoke enters the stem base where it may or may not be immediately directed to the down tube 110. In any case, the dry smoke enters the stem base 130 through an inlet 138 at the apex thereof. It is preferred in the present invention that the down tube 110 include an attachment means, e.g. threading, pressure-fit, etc., for attaching the down tube to the apex of the stem base or nadir of the dry smoke tube. Placing a down tube at the apex of the base stem permits greater variations in channeling within the base stem with less materials removal therein during fabrication. The dry smoke travels through the down tube to the hookah bottle as it exits the down tube dry smoke outlet 114; and in the preferred invention, the dry smoke is segregated from the base stem by transport through the down tube within the base stem.

When the dry smoke is released from the down tube into the hookah bottle, the liquid cools the smoke. The smoke ascends through the liquid and is released above the surface of the liquid to become wetted smoke. The wetted smoke ascends from the liquid back into the stem base. The present invention utilizes stem plates 142 and/or interior walls (not shown) to selectively alter the airflow within the stem base during periods of positive pressure.

Turning now to FIGS. 6-8, one of the recent advances in hookah technology is the use of certain sealing mechanisms to control the pressure within the interior of a hookah. But there are three states of a hookah, negative pressure, equilibrium, and positive pressure. During a state of equilibrium, wetted smoke behaves according to the principles of Brownian motion and will achieve a generally uniform Brownian distribution within the stem base interior. During states of positive pressure (e.g., blowing into the stem base) and negative pressure (e.g., sucking from the stem base), the pressurized wetted smoke behaves according to the principles of Bernoulli and the Continuity Equation. Wherein p is fluid density, A is cross section area, v is velocity, and time is time:

P(A1)v1(Δt)=ρ(A2)v2(Δt)

Where a hookah includes a pressure release that activates only in positive pressure events, channels leading to the pressure release are a trivial factor in the internal pressure environment of the hookah. However, in instances of positive pressure, the pressure release valve activates to jettison pressure—including as pressure may be able to escape through other smoking hoses. Airflow should have the velocity to both activate the valve and escape in a timely fashion.

The present invention creates an ideal airflow within the base stem that conceptually creates a pipe within a plenum that lacks discrete passages with a cross section area significantly larger than that of the pressure escape vents. In previous hookahs that utilized a shared wet smoke cavern for multiple smoke outlets, pressure lacked any means of constriction except at the point of exit during positive pressure events and required more effort on the part of a user to “purge” the hookah of stale smoke. Stale smoke (also known as “harsh smoke”) is smoke that has lingered in the hookah for an excessive amount of time and has an unpleasant taste. By turning the wet smoke cavern portion leading to the pressure release into a structure resembling a staged conduit, the hookah may be purged with less effort and more effectively.

The stem base 130 of the present invention includes a plenum 136 formed by the stem base sidewall 134. The plenum 130 of the present invention includes the portion with the stem base that includes, if one were to axially slice the stem, both wet smoke and dry smoke and the means for transporting the smoke types to their respective destinations. The plenum 136 includes a partition wall 180 that subdivides the plenum into two portions, a major cavern 152 and a minor cavern 154. The major cavern is so-named because it will necessarily be large than the minor cavern in the present invention. Because the down tube 110 will centrally connect to the stem base 130, or otherwise travel centrally through the stem base, the partition wall will form a chord within the plenum. The present invention uses the term chord to indicate a solid body from one portion of the stem sidewall to another portion of the stem sidewall such that does not cross the centerpoint of stem base; to the extent that the plenum is not circular, or near circular (e.g., hexagons), then a chord need only include those aspects of extending from one side to another without crossing through a center point. The partition wall, in its chordical nature as contemplated by the present disclosure, need not be linear or straight.

Wet smoke ascends through the wet smoke inlet 144 at the nadir of the stem base. The preferred partition wall extends to the nadir of the stem base and wet smoke is immediately shunted in the direction of the major cavern or the minor cavern. The purpose of the partition wall is to simulate a lengthy conduit somewhat centrally in a component that lacks non-peripheral conduits. Another of the recent advances in hookah fabrication is the elimination of specific conduits for dry and wet smoke through the use of a strategically placed, removable down tube that features only wet smoke outlets hewn into the sidewall of the stem base—and those outlets generally direct, rather than winding. The present partition wall supplements this advance by permitting the above-mentioned system while also permitting internal conduits to be later fashioned through additive fabrication rather than destructive fabrication.

Although the major cavern may be more sizable than the minor cavern, it is preferred that the major cavern include a major entry 144 a disproportionately sized in relation to the minor entry 144 b. The preferred sizing may be further achieved through the use of stem plates 142. A stem plate 142 is a generally flat outcropping from the stem interior into the plenum for the purpose of artificially manipulating airflow. As shown in FIG. 8, the stem plate may include any dimensions for achieving the purposes of the present invention. The preferred stem base uses a stem plate at the wet smoke inlet to constrict the area of the major entry to a minimal size. Although FIG. 8 depicts a major entry larger than the minor entry, it must be remembered that the down tube, which will form a walled barrier, will pass through the major entry. An annular area will be formed for the ascension of wet smoke into the major cavern. It is preferred that the area relationship between the major entry and minor entry be anywhere from 0.25 to 3× without consideration of the down tube. With the addition of the down tube it is preferred that the minor entry be comparable in area to the major entry.

The use of the present invention permits a user to easily purge stale smoke. In a positive pressure event, the smoke within the hookah has a more defined, streamlined flow that avoids the turbulence of one central wet smoke cavern. Airflow begins at the wet smoke outlet 132 a, travels downward along the down tube out the major entry, returns through the minor entry into the pressure release outlet 132 b, and into the pressure release valve 160. In pressure release valve, the force of the air pushes against a seal that, upon actuation, opens vents 166 that release wet smoke. The head 164 of the valve 160 may be removable to permit cleaning of the base stem and valve. Alternatively, the removable and interchangeable hose valve and pressure valve components of U.S. Pat. No. 8,573,229 (the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference into the present disclosure) may be used.

The present invention preferably utilizes a plunger 140 on the stem base 130 to submerge a greater portion of the stem toward the liquid of the hookah bottle. The plunger 140 is an extension of the stem base 130 that extends well below the hookah bottle opening. The plunger achieves one of the aspects of the present invention in creating a quasi-conduit out of an open space and lengthening the airflow path from the wet smoke outlet to the pressure valve.

The use of a larger major cavern permits the use of one or more wet smoke outlets, each of which may be connected to a single wet smoke reservoir, here the major cavern. Furthermore, any hookah hose in fluid communication with the major cavern may be used to purge the hookah through the minor cavern with substantially similar airflow patterns. The hookah of the present invention includes at least one wet smoke outlet, for communication of wetted smoke to a hookah hose, and at least one pressure release valve for the selected release of pressure. The pressure release valve of the present invention preferably includes a one-way flow fitting with a stopper (e.g., a ball) disposed within the fitting body or as otherwise described in the '229 patent.

Turning now to FIGS. 9-11, the present invention further includes a stem adapter 200. Fabricating internal channels and walls within a hookah stem is a significant undertaking in a hookah assembly line. The adapter of FIGS. 9-17 is meant to be an aftermarket solution to adapt pre-existing hookah stems to the configuration of the present invention. The adapter 200 is preferably affixed to a down tube 110 that penetrates the stem base so that the adapter can be positioned as high in the stem base as possible. It is preferred that the adapter by positioned such that airflow cannot pass over the upper portion thereof and the internal topwall of the stem forms an upper barrier.

The stem adapter 200 includes a body 202 having a body aperture 204 that is sized to internally accept a stem portion, preferably a separable down tube. The body 202 includes a continuous shape, meaning that the shape includes a circle, square, or other shape that lacks a clear beginning and end. The preferred continuous shape is circular. The body aperture 204 similarly preferably includes a circular shape—as most downtubes have circular bodies in cross-section. It is most preferred that the elastic bodies be manufactured to accept specific stem sizes. The aperture 204 should be sized, and the body 202 should be constructed of an elastic material, sufficient to deform to the exterior of the stem while nonetheless being capable of sliding the adapter 200 up and down the stem. The elasticity should permit the adapter to be self-supportingly affixed and removed from the hookah stem portion to which it is meant to affix.

The adapter 200 includes one or more fins 210. The fins 210 accomplish the goals of the present invention as disclosed in the embodiments of FIGS. 1-8. The fins 210 act to subdivide the interior of the stem that collects wetted smoke into two or more discrete sections to generate a favorable airflow pattern. The number of discrete sections into which the stem base, or even upper region of the bottle, is subdivided may depend on the number of users smoking the hookah. As shown in FIGS. 14-17, the fins 210 may divide the stem into as many users as are smoking the hookah, and fins may be oriented to create open spaces that correspond to the placement of the hookah wet smoke outlets, that is to say the ports to which hookah hoses attach, of the hookah.

As show in FIGS. 9-11, there may be a single fin 210 formed on the periphery of the body 202 that creates a bifurcation on either side of the fin 210. Here, the fin 210 is curved to create a roughly cylindrical airflow pattern for the ascent of wetted smoke. FIGS. 12-13 includes a peripheral fin that forms a tangent with the body 202. Turning now, to FIGS. 14-16, the present invention further includes fins 210 that radially extend outward from the body 202. The fins 210 of FIG. 15 are intended for use with a “four outlet” pipe wherein one outlet utilizes a pressure release valve, while the other three outlets include hookah hoses. The fins of an adapter 200 may be symmetric or entirely on one portion of the body 202. The fin placement, orientation, and contour of the fins is not meant to be limited and may be altered as desired to correspond to the airflow patterns of different hookah stems. FIGS. 16-17 demonstrate an embodiment of the stem adapter 200 suited for four simultaneous users of a hookah. The fins 210 are symmetrical and create the number of airflow pasthways between the fins as corresponds to the number of hookah smokers.

The fins 210 of the present invention extend beyond the body 202 to create the airflow pathways of the present invention. By “extending” it is meant that the fins traverse a length whereby the length of the fin, if tangential, or length of the fin plus body, if radial, is greater than the body alone. The preferred length of the fin depends on the hookah stem to which the adapter may be used, but preferably extends approximately a substantial distance between the sidewalls of the stem interior, or the distance between the sidewalls of the neck of a hookah bottle. If the fins are constructed of an elastic material, the fins, if longer than the span from bottle-wall-to-bottle-wall or from stem-interior-wall-to-stem-interior-wall, the fins can deform to adjust to the material of the stem or base. Because the adapter is meant to create an airflow pattern at a substantial depth, it is preferred that the height of the body, which would be considered parallel to the down tube to which an adapter might attach, be greater than the width of the body (i.e., as considered without the fins). The height to width ratio is preferably at least 1.25×, and more preferably at least 2×.

Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other versions would be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred versions contained herein. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A removable hookah stem adapter for releasable affixation to the interior of a hookah stem and exterior to a dry smoke transport member reaching a liquid within a hookah bottle, said adapter comprising: a continuous elastic body defining an adapter aperture; and at least one fin extending exterior to said elastic body and extending beyond said elastic body.
 2. The adapter of claim 1 wherein said fin includes a tangential attachment to said body.
 3. The adapter of claim 2 wherein said fin is curved outwardly with respect to said body.
 4. The adapter of claim 2 wherein said fin is curved inwardly with respect to said body.
 5. The adapter of claim 1 comprising at least two fins extending exterior to said elastic body and extending beyond said elastic body.
 6. The adapter of claim 5 wherein said at least two fins extend radially from said body.
 7. The adapter of claim 6 wherein said at least two fins are symmetrically arranged about said body.
 8. The adapter of claim 6 comprising at least four fins extending exterior to said elastic body and extending beyond said elastic body.
 9. The adapter of claim 6 wherein said at least four fins are symmetrically arranged about said body.
 10. The adapter of claim 1 wherein said body includes a height, relative to a prospective down tube orientation, at least 1.25× said adapter width.
 11. The adapter of claim 1 wherein said body includes a height, relative to a prospective down tube orientation, at least 2× said adapter width.
 12. A hookah stem adapter kit comprising: a hookah stem portion dimensioned to extend into a hookah bottle; a continuous elastic body defining an adapter aperture, sized to self-supportingly attach to said hookah stem portion; and at least one fin extending exterior to said elastic body and extending beyond said elastic body.
 13. The kit of claim 12 wherein said fin includes a tangential attachment to said body.
 14. The kit of claim 13 wherein said fin is curved outwardly with respect to said body.
 15. The kit of claim 13 wherein said fin is curved inwardly with respect to said body.
 16. The kit of claim 12 comprising at least two fins extending exterior to said elastic body and extending beyond said elastic body.
 17. The kit of claim 16 wherein said at least two fins extend radially from said body.
 18. The kit of claim 17 wherein said at least two fins are symmetrically arranged about said body.
 19. The kit of claim 17 comprising at least four fins extending exterior to said elastic body and extending beyond said elastic body.
 20. The kit of claim 12 wherein said stem portion includes a separable down tube portion. 